Leia Uses the Force in STAR WARS AFTERMATH: LIFE DEBT

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Luke Skywalker wasn’t the last hope for the Jedi. His sister Leia Organa was also capable of wielding the Force, something we saw displayed in subtle scenes in the original Star Wars trilogy. That subtlety was back in The Force Awakens as Leia sensed the death of Han Solo. But in the years between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, did she ever flex her Force abilities and consider becoming a Jedi? Star Wars Aftermath: Life Debt, the next book in Chuck Wendig’sAftermath trilogy, might have the answers.

Mashable has an exclusive excerpt from the upcoming novel. Han Solo and Chewbacca are working to free the citizens of Kashyyyk from the grasp of the Empire, and Leia is pregnant with Ben Solo, a.k.a. Kylo Ren. In the scene, Leia meditates and stretches out with the Force. She tries to connect with the lifeforce of a tree based on what Luke taught her, and she’s unsuccessful with the plant but is suddenly able to touch her unborn baby through the Force. She learns her baby is a boy and experiences the light side of the Force and the positive emotions that come with it.

What does this revelation mean for the films? Not necessarily much. We’ve seen where Leia is after this. The Force doesn’t play a huge part in General Organa’s development in Episode VII, aside from the moment I already mentioned. She seems able to sense things, and maybe she has a greater ability to do so because of the instructions she received from Luke. I don’t imagine that she received any formal training from her brother as much as they just had some conversations over a morning cup of caf about how focusing on the Force could be of benefit to Leia.

Perhaps this experience will trigger Leia to explore her abilities further. If that’s the case, there’s a story about why she hasn’t made the Force a huge part of her life–the Force is barely mentioned in Claudia Gray’s Bloodline, which takes place years after Life Debt–and that certainly has the potential to be intriguing.

Star Wars Aftermath: Life Debt will be out on July 12, 2016. Are you planning to pick up the book? What do you think about Leia using the Force? Talk to me in the comments.